It has come to our attention that a very special Vaisnava devotee of the Lord, Prahlad Nrsimha Prabhu (Philip Vahovich), has left his body. Prahlada Nrsimha Prabhu was a famous book distributer of Srila Prabhupada’s original books, and the creator of the very important Krishna Path website. Krishna Path, is the official source for free download of Srila Prabhupada’s original books. Prahlad Nrsimha’s service can not be overstated. He has reached so many souls through his preaching efforts, and will be gravely missed.

This morning I wanted to share with you all one of my most favorite books The Nectar of Devotion. I began re-reading it this morning, and feel very inspired to practice my bhakti yoga with new enthusiasm. You can click on following links to read or save to your computer the scanned version or the pdf version.

From Preface

…The Nectar of Devotion is a summary study of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which was written in Sanskrit by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda. He was the chief of the six Gosvāmīs, who were the direct disciples of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. …The Nectar of Devotion is specifically presented for persons who are now engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. I beg to offer my sincere thanks to all my friends and disciples who are helping me to push forward the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in the Western countries, and I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, the contribution made by my beloved disciple Śrīman Jayānanda brahmacārī. My thanks are due as well to the directors of ISKCON Press, who have taken so much care in publishing this great literature. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Arguably one of the most important and most mesmerizing recordings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Produced by Hansadutta & the German Yatra, 1974. The album was recorded in June, 1974 at Schloss Rettershoff, during Srila Prabhupada’s visit there. It was his second and final visit to Germany. The devotees set up a recording room beneath the stairs, and Srila Prabhupada happily obliged their request to do a recording. Vocals and harmonium by Srila Prabhupada, Hansadutta on mrdanga, Cakravarti and Himavati play kartals. Read more about it: Classic ISKCON Vinyl – Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Meditation Double LP.

There aren’t many Krishna-related double LPs out there. And only one that is fully Srila Prabhupada.

One of the cool things about double LP’s is that they often have gatefold covers. Krsna Meditation is no exception. The inside of this gatefold sports a huge picture taken during the recording session.

click on image to enlarge

The paragraph that appears on the lower left corner of the gatefold reads:

The singing of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Gosvami Prabhupada is pure devotional music in praise of Krsna – Meditation, Srila Prabhupada explains, is not inactive, impersonal or void. Meditation is the awakening of the soul’s eternal relationship with the Supreme Person, Krsna. One who has experienced such an awakening cannot stop meditating on Krsna even for a moment, just as a young boy who has fallen in love with a young girl cannot stop thinking of her at any time. One can sing for Krsna, dance for Krsna, cook for Krsna, think for Krsna, work for Krsna or even fight for Krsna. In this way doing everything for Krsna, in the end one returns to Krsna.

By Hearing the spiritual sound vibrations of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Gosvami Prabhupada, the listener is immediately elevated to the platform of Krsna meditation which brings supreme peace and bliss within the heart.

This morning as I was driving up our lane, I saw a hawk flying past me with a live squirrel in his talons. And I thought, ‘how fragile is this life’. One moment the squirrel was out collecting nuts to store in his home for the winter, and the next moment, he is being carried away to his sure death. I was reminded of the famous quote “Life takes Life”, and of how all of ours lives, hang in the balance.

There is another famous Quote from the Srimad Bhagavatam:

“Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was asked by Yamarāja, “What is the most wonderful thing in this world? Can you explain?” So Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira answered, “Yes. The most wonderful thing is that at every moment one can see that his friends, his fathers, and his relatives have died, but he is thinking, ‘I shall live forever.’”” (The Science of Self Realization)

This is the great illusion (maya)

So today I am moved to post another chapter from the book “Beyond Birth & Death” by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chapter One entitled “We Are Not These Bodies”.

Also for a Free PDF download of entire book click the link at bottom of post.

Our friends over at Krishna Path have sent us their Newsletter with their new audio addition book for you to download for free! Krsna, the Reservoir of Pleasure.
You can go to their Free ebooks site and download a wide range of pre-1978 books by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This is a very nice service.